Schumer calls for calm after Trump’s arraignment: 'Protests must be peaceful'

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Tuesday called for cool heads and a fair legal process shortly after Donald Trump made history as the first former president ever to face criminal charges.

"I believe that Mr. Trump will have a fair trial that follows the facts and the law," Schumer said in a statement. "There’s no place in our justice system for any outside influence or intimidation in the legal process. As the trial proceeds, protest is an American right but all protests must be peaceful."

Trump pleaded "not guilty" to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, linked to alleged hush money payments made to porn star Stormy Daniels during the GOP leader’s 2016 campaign.

Whereas his Republican allies have spent Tuesday afternoon casting accusations of partisanship at New York County District Attorney Alvin Bragg for running the investigation, Democrats have mostly been restrained in their responses – emphasizing that the judicial process must be allowed to go on without interference.